Butter question--why is the Amish butter SOOO much better?

[Ottakee]

Does anyone know why the Amish butter is so much better than the stuff you buy at the store? Both list the ingredients as cream, salt. The Amish one actually lists it as having less salt than the store stuff.

 

I buy the Amish butter in rolls in Shipshewana or at a small dairy here in Michigan (www.countrydairy.com) .

[Critterfixer]

Hazarding a guess: grass fed cows?

[Ellie]

Is it made from pasteurized milk or raw milk?

 

Or maybe it has a higher fat content like my favorite Plugra butter?

[G5052]

Yes, I think it is grass-fed cows, although of course there are times of the year when they had to feed them otherwise. Maybe the milk is also not stored/transported as much?

 

I buy Amish butter through our co-op because I do notice that it has more flavor.

[TammyS]

Two reasons: one the cows are grass fed (at least primarily) and so there is a MUCH higher vitamin content, along with all of the associated flavors that you get from a varied grass diet. Reg butter is better for you than fake fats (margarine) but grass-fed butter is a lot healthier than store butter. Like the programmer's motto - garbage in, garbage out. Also, store butter is pasteurized. This process breaks the protein and fat molecules apart in a way that substantially alters the flavor and texture.

[hillfarm]

I hate to add this, but the Amish butter might also have some additives, even though they are not listed. In Amish country in Ohio, it is not unusual to see an Amish horse team pulling a tank and pesticide/herbicide sprayer across a pasture. In my understanding, the bishops in each different group determine what "worldly" things that particular group can use. So, to be honest, the label "Amish" doesn't automatically mean "pure" or "organic".

 

If it tastes better, I do think it is likely that the cows are on good grass or good hay. Unfortunately, the reverse is also true. If the cows are on pastures with a lot of wild garlic or onions, that will definitely flavor the milk and butter. It is still all natural, but will make a much better spread for garlic bread than butter for your morning biscuit and jam.

[FaithManor]

I hate to add this, but the Amish butter might also have some additives, even though they are not listed. In Amish country in Ohio, it is not unusual to see an Amish horse team pulling a tank and pesticide/herbicide sprayer across a pasture. In my understanding, the bishops in each different group determine what "worldly" things that particular group can use. So, to be honest, the lable "Amish" doesn't automatically mean "pure" or "organic".

 

If it tastes better, I do think it is likely that the cows are on good grass or good hay. Unfortunately, the reverse is also true. If the cows are on pastures with a lot of wild garlic or onions, that will definitely flavor the milk and butter. It is still all natural, but will make a much better spread for garlic bread than butter for your morning biscuit and jam.

 

True, the Bishop in our area has only agreed to a plant food - fertilizer - that is not organic, but in reality, not harmful either. He believes that the use of pesticides and herbicides interfere with God's plan for nature. However, the fertilizer he agreed to was because he felt that "feeding plants" was perfectly okay, being a good steward - that kind of thing, and because it was not bad for people or the environment. However, go over a few counties and they spray pesticides because the Bishop okayed it. Amish, like any faith/worldview system, can be a very fluid concept once one gets into the details.

 

Faith

[gardenmom5]

no idea. perhaps becasue store bought butter is pasturized and that really changes how the cream reacts? I detest "ultra-homogenized" whipping cream. it doesn't want to whip correctly. it also seems to be all some stores carry.

 

eons ago I stayed with my great-aunt, and she had butter from a friend of hers (who had cows). It was much better than store-bought butter.

[tearose]

I hate to add this, but the Amish butter might also have some additives, even though they are not listed. In Amish country in Ohio, it is not unusual to see an Amish horse team pulling a tank and pesticide/herbicide sprayer across a pasture. In my understanding, the bishops in each different group determine what "worldly" things that particular group can use. So, to be honest, the lable "Amish" doesn't automatically mean "pure" or "organic".

 

 

I pretty much avoid Amish products for this reason. My neighbor has had some local Amish do carpentry work on his house; he was appalled at the pesticides they were using ... like the one on strawberries that isn't even recommended for lawns. Maybe it's more my local area, but no thanks!

[TammyS]

I hate to add this, but the Amish butter might also have some additives, even though they are not listed. In Amish country in Ohio, it is not unusual to see an Amish horse team pulling a tank and pesticide/herbicide sprayer across a pasture. In my understanding, the bishops in each different group determine what "worldly" things that particular group can use. So, to be honest, the lable "Amish" doesn't automatically mean "pure" or "organic".

 

If it tastes better, I do think it is likely that the cows are on good grass or good hay. Unfortunately, the reverse is also true. If the cows are on pastures with a lot of wild garlic or onions, that will definitely flavor the milk and butter. It is still all natural, but will make a much better spread for garlic bread than butter for your morning biscuit and jam.

 

 

This is true. It's not ideal, but if it's the only grass-fed butter a person has access to (because I have never heard of an Amish family with a cafo type set-up), it's still better than store butter. It will at least have more nutrients and flavor, and I find it doubtful that it will have more pesticide residue than store bought butter.

[fairfarmhand]

I make butter from my own cow's milk. The milk is better, so it stands to reason that the butter is better. It has a lot to do with the diet of the cow. Also, certain breeds of cows (like Jerseys) have better cream than the typical Holstein cow. Or at least that's what I've been told. I've only ever had a Jersey.

[stripe]

I have seen some hardcore environmentalist type Amish, so I think there are all kinds.

 

Makes me want to try butter from a local dairy! They're not Amish ut they are small scale, and their milk and ice cream is nice, I just usually don't spring for it.

 

Some butters put in some kind of butter flavoring. I don't like it, it tastes like that popcorn grease.

[Vida Winter]

Hmm. I like the unsalted butter I buy from Costco better than the Amish butter we sometimes get. The Amish butter has a taste I don't care for, and I don't think it has anything to do with salt.

[UrbanSue]

We used to get all our animal-based food from an Amish farmer whose farm we had toured. He was a huge renegade in his community for practicing organic farming. So they really are all different.

 

But I will concur with everyone here saying that grass-fed butter is a lot healthier and usually tastier. It is very easy to tell the difference: grass fed butter is more yellow. The yellower the better. That's why margarine is dyed yellow--to look like good butter.

 

But all butter sold commercially is going to be pasteurized unless it says "raw" and raw is illegal in pretty much every state. So it is likely the diet of the cows you are tasting in your case.

[TammyS]

But all butter sold commercially is going to be pasteurized unless it says "raw" and raw is illegal in pretty much every state. So it is likely the diet of the cows you are tasting in your case.

 

 

There are ways around that. :coolgleamA:

[UrbanSue]

 

There are ways around that. :coolgleamA:

 

 

I know--when I said "commercially" I meant "in a store, available for purchase by the general public". If you are getting your Amish butter on the farm in an unmarked tub (and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that) then it might well be raw. But if that is is your food acquisition model, you'd probably already know exactly why it tasted better.

[Starr]

It was quite the surreal picture driving by an Amish woman with a tank on her back fertilizing the gardens.

[jeninok]

The milk from our local dairy, that isn't certified organic, but has happy named Jersey cows that are grass fed is simply amazing. The milk is Vat pasteurized, at a very low temp, and it is so yummy. I hate milk generally, so that is saying a lot!

 

I think it has a lot to do with the care and diet of the animals, happy cows and all that.

[hillfarm]

Something else that hasn't been addressed is the salt. Often salt can have trace minerals included that affect flavor. Perhaps this accounts for some of the taste difference also.

[Susann]

I make butter from my own cow's milk. The milk is better, so it stands to reason that the butter is better. It has a lot to do with the diet of the cow. Also, certain breeds of cows (like Jerseys) have better cream than the typical Holstein cow. Or at least that's what I've been told. I've only ever had a Jersey.

Jersey have much high fat content but lower production volume. Holstein produces at a much high volume but lower fat content. Because of production volume, large scale national herds are usually Holstein.

[UrbanSue]

Also, I forgot to mention earlier that the breed of cow makes a big difference as well. Jersey cow milk is much higher in fat than Holsteins. And cows that are bred for high production will have lower fat.

[Dory]

Diary cows are fed strict rations and specific types of food to keep the milk consistently the same and the same quantity and quality. You won't get that on small home raised cows. Also, different breeds produce different qualities of cream. Once it's left the cow there that doesn't mean differences cease. I add clabber to all my cream which techniquely wouldn't have to be on an ingredient list as it's just cream or milk. It completely changes the butter though If I let the cream warm to room temperature instead of churning it cold, it'll change the taste. There are so many ways to vary the butter.

[MBM]

I read the title as "Butler question--why is the Amish butler SOOO much better?" LOL.

[happypamama]

Around here, we can get butter from an Amish-run farm, and their cows are 100% grass-fed, and the cream is not pasteurized. It's very delicious -- but it's also $9 a pound (and a 45-minute drive each way to get it). I can buy butter from mostly grass-fed cows (on close to organic pasture, not certified, but the practices are organic) that is pretty good too, from a closer creamery, for about $6 a pound, or the organic butter from the grocery store for about the same. I usually buy organic butter for cooking or for eating on things like bread and vegetables, but cheap butter for baking.

 

Also, I think the difference may be in the variety of cows. I know the Amish-run farm uses one kind (Jersey, I think), and their raw milk has much more cream than the raw milk from the closer creamery (which I think is a mix of Holsteins and Jerseys). I like the taste of it better as well.

[butterflymommy]

I don't know how the places you buy it from work, but if it hasn't been frozen and thawed over and over and/ or taken forever to reach the shelf in the dairy section, it will be better quality. It could also have a higher fat content-- like breastmilk in humans, cow milk will have varying degree of fat content depending on the cow, its diet, its state of health, and so on.

 

I've found butter tends to absorb the smell and flavor of what it is stored next to, so again depending on the shipping and packing process it may just find its way to you in a better state than average grocery store butter.

[LizzyBee]

Does anyone know why the Amish butter is so much better than the stuff you buy at the store? Both list the ingredients as cream, salt. The Amish one actually lists it as having less salt than the store stuff.

 

I buy the Amish butter in rolls in Shipshewana or at a small dairy here in Michigan (www.countrydairy.com) .

 

I grew up on a farm and we made our own butter. We had a beef farm, but always kept a milk cow. She was mostly grass fed, but got a combination of grain and hay in the winter. But my dad made the feed from grains we raised on the farm, so it was prob better quality than you would get at the feed store. Anyway, we milked by hand and did nothing to the milk except strained it through a dish towel or cheese cloth. The butter was made only from the thickest top layer of cream that settled on top of the milk, and we set it out overnight to sour before we churned it. The stuff they call butter in the grocery stores? :ack2: I'll bake with it, but I won't use it in on bread or veggies or in anything where I'll actually taste it. It's gross.

[Ottakee]

Glad to see that I am not the only one that notices the difference. It IS a darker yellow as well.

[Samiam]

 

 

But all butter sold commercially is going to be pasteurized unless it says "raw" and raw is illegal in pretty much every state. So it is likely the diet of the cows you are tasting in your case.

 

 

That's not true. It's not illegal in SC and if you go to the websites that are pro-raw milk, it shows other states that are legal as well.

[stripe]

I've found butter tends to absorb the smell and flavor of what it is stored next to, so again depending on the shipping and packing process it may just find its way to you in a better state than average grocery store butter.

I have had good success with average grocery stores, but I don't buy from random small grocery stores anymore, unless I have reason to believe it's fresh. Otherwise, it's generally not.

[Zuzu822]

Anyone else start reciting "Betty Botter bought some butter..." while reading this?

 

Also, Dot you and I must be semi-local because I read the story about the puppies too recently.

[OrganicAnn]

I could be that it is cultured or fermented more than commercial butter. I heard a foodie once talk about some country's butter (Sweden or Denmark) which was fermented.

 

"Before modern factory butter making, cream was usually collected from several milkings and was therefore several days old and somewhat fermented by the time it was made into butter. Butter made from a fermented cream is known as cultured butter. During fermentation, the cream naturally sours as bacteria convert milk sugars into lactic acid. The fermentation process produces additional aroma compounds, including diacetyl, which makes for a fuller-flavored and more "buttery" tasting product."

[VeritasMama]

 

 

I'd think it was grass fed, happy cows. I, too, am no longer enchanted by the Amish. Just recently a couple were arrested for killing a litter of pups they couldn't sell. They can be just as ignorant, biased, and non- skilled in carpentry, farming, or sewing as non-Amish can be.

 

 

I was never "enchanted" by the Amish, but isn't killing puppies that no one wants exactly what happens in animal shelters? I could never kill a puppy, but I am having a hard time seeing how this is a crime that requires jail time, unless they killed the puppies in a cruel or unusual way?

[TammyS]

This thread has gotten me wondering if anyone would be interested in a social group thread for those who are interested in Weston Price/Real Food eating? A sort of information sharing and support group?

[happypamama]

 

 

That's not true. It's not illegal in SC and if you go to the websites that are pro-raw milk, it shows other states that are legal as well.

 

Yep, raw milk (and raw butter, raw cream, and even raw yogurt) is completely legal here in PA, if you have a license to sell it (which means you have done the necessary testing and all). Some states make it legal to sell as "pet food," or as part of a cow share, but in some states, PA included, it can be sold straight from the licensed dairy/farm with no trouble at all. Realmilk.com has a good map and listing.